Episode 33: Chris Pierson On Cybersecurity and The Dangers of Working Remotely

“A firewall is not a be all and end all. It isn't a “hey we have one, so now you're cyber secure.” But in a person's home environment, the router . . . the network modem, your AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, whatever, having that set up correctly is critical. But then the next piece of appliance next thing that happens after that, the router, sometimes it's two in one, but usually it's more separated. Having that device secure, making sure that is blocking other adversaries, making sure that simple things can't be found out about your home network, making sure the Wi-Fi is secure and all the rest – so important. That is where it starts. So, the router, the firewalls, absolutely where it starts from a cybersecurity perspective, when you're talking about the employees' home and home network.”

COVID-19 mandates and company lock-downs have caused a huge chunk of the workforce to continue to work from home. Study after study have shown that this needn’t negatively affect productivity, but it can easily affect corporate cybersecurity. All those remote workers logging in to company servers, all those new passwords, all those erratic emails, sometimes from unfamiliar sources, can create havoc when trying to secure the corporate network from outsiders, especially those with nefarious intent. You can’t miss  this fact-filled and fast moving episode that could very well save your corporate network from harm.

Dr. Chris Pierson is the founder and CEO of BlackCloak, which specializes in protecting its customers from financial loss, cybercrime, hacking, reputational damage, privacy exposure, and identity theft. Dr. Pierson serves as the Department of Homeland Security's data privacy and integrity advisory committee, DHS's cybersecurity subcommittee, and as a distinguished fellow at the Ponemon Institute. Chris has been fighting cybercrime for over 20 years with DHS as president of the Federal Bureau of Investigations Arizona InfraGard. And in other roles as chief information security officer for various financial companies. Chris was a founding executive of Viewpost, a FinTech payments company serving as their CISO and general counsel. He was the first chief privacy officer as VP for the Royal Bank of Scotland's US operations, leading its privacy and data protection program. Chris was also a corporate attorney for Lewis and Roca re-established its cybersecurity practice, representing companies who were hacked and fell victim to data breaches. Chris is a globally recognized keynote speaker and cybersecurity thought leader, board advisor for startups, and is frequently quoted by the media on cybersecurity and privacy.